Bias and False Reason

1
Bias and False Reason

• Bias and false reasons spin data.

2
What are biased words?

• Bias is unfair, prejudiced, slanted, and
  one-sided.
• Biased words favor or disfavor someone or
  something, usually based upon experience.
• Can you match the political side that the news
  sources favor?
• a. liberal b. conservative
• __ Fox News?
• __ CNN?

? True blue news?
3
Heres some news on bias

• According to the most recent study by the Pew
  Research Center, just 29 of Americans say that
  news agencies generally get the facts straight,
  while 63 say that news stories are often biased
  and inaccurate.
• The political sides that the news sources favor
• a. liberal b. conservative
• _b_ Fox News
• _a_ CNN

4
How factual or emotional is bias?

• Which ones are nonfactual and emotionally biased?
• __1. What normal person would want to watch a
  stupid football game when a wonderful romantic
  comedy is on?
• __2. The last day of spring semester is May 8.
• __3. I hate it that there are more cars in the
  parking lot every semester.
• __4. The easiest way to pass the class is the ask
  the professor for all the answers.

? The ref
5
Bias feels very emotional.

• Three are nonfactual and emotionally biased
• Bias 1. What normal person would want to watch a
  stupid football game when a wonderful romantic
  comedy is on?
• Fact 2. The last day of spring semester is May 8.
• Bias 3. I hate it that there are more cars in the
  parking lot every semester.
• Bias 4. The easiest way to pass the class is the
  ask the professor for all the answers.

? Prepared?
6
Are exaggerations factual?

• Which ones are nonfactual and exaggerated?
• __1. It is not my fault that the computer never
  works right.
• __2. The professor presents course information.
• __3. The professor is always talking and talking.
• __4. No one in the world understands me at all.
• __5. Computers sometimes have malfunctions.
• __6. Not everyone understands me all the time.

• Scared of
• open places?

7
Exaggeration is nonfactual and biased.

• Three statements are nonfactual and exaggerated
• E 1. It is not my fault that the computer never
  works right.
• __2. The professor presents course information.
• E 3. The professor is always talking and
  talking.
• E 4. No one in the world understands me at all.
• __5. Computers sometimes have malfunctions.
• __6. Not everyone understands me all the time.

? Real safety?
8
Is overgeneralization biased?

• Which ones are too general?
• __1. I saw a TV program about Mexico once, and
  the people barely spoke English.
• __2. About one person in ten among Mexicans
  speaks English fluently.
• __3. No doubt no one in Mexico speaks English
  fluently.
• __4. The official language of Mexico is Spanish,
  but some people speak Indian dialects, too.
• __5. It is probably the same all across Latin
  America.

9
Nonfactual bias is too general.

• Two of the statements are too general
• Fact 1. Once I saw a TV program about Mexico and
  the people barely spoke English.
• Fact 2. About one person in ten among Mexicans
  speaks English fluently.
• Gen 3. No doubt no one in Mexico speaks English
  fluently.
• Fact 4. The official language of Mexico is
  Spanish, but some people speak Indian dialects,
  too.
• Gen 5. It is probably the same all across Latin
  America.

10
Are stereotypes really factual?

• Which are stereotyped?
• __1. Everyone in small towns works so slow that
  they never get rich.
• __2. There seems to be a slower pace of life in
  small towns than in large cities.
• __3. City people talk so fast that you cant
  understand their accent if you tried.
• __4. The retired may have fewer time stresses
  than those who are still in jobs.
• __5. Old people could care less about the time
  because they dont have to work.

11
Bias overuses stereotypes.

• Three are stereotyped
• S 1. Everyone in small towns works so slow that
  they never get rich.
• __2. There seems to be a slower pace of life in
  small towns than in large cities.
• S 3. City people talk so fast that you cant
  understand their accent if you tried.
• __4. The retired may have fewer time stresses
  than those who are still in jobs.
• S 5. Old people could care less about the time
  because they dont have to work.

12
Can bias put opinions as facts?

• Which ones are nonfactual opinions?
• __1. It is colder in Georgia than in Florida.
• __2. It is colder in Georgia than in Florida
  because I like Florida better than Georgia.
• __3. My family is better than yours in every way.
• __4. My family is different from yours in many
  ways.
• __5. After all, we cant be wrong, and you cant
  be right.

13
Bias states opinions as facts.

• Three are really just opinions posing as facts
• __1. It is colder in Georgia than in Florida.
• O 2. It is colder in Georgia than in Florida
  because I like Florida better than Georgia.
• O 3. My family is better than yours in every way.
• __4. My family is different from yours in many
  ways.
• O 5. After all, we cant be wrong, and you cant
  be right.

14
Is bias imbalanced or one-sided?

• Which statements are imbalanced or one-sided?
• __1. The awesome Georgia Bulldogs should always
  beat the retarded Tennessee Volunteers in any
  sporting match.
• __2. Toyotas are way better than Hondas since my
  cousin sells great Toyotas and doesnt even like
  stupid Hondas.
• __3. There are more Toyota Corollas on the roads
  of the world than any other specific make and
  model.
• __4. The fans of various college sports teams may
  become fairly attached to their favorites.

15
Bias is imbalanced or one-sided!

• Two statements are imbalanced or one-sided
• Bias 1. The awesome Georgia Bulldogs should
  always beat the retarded Tennessee Volunteers in
  any sporting match.
• Bias 2. Toyotas are way better than Hondas since
  my cousin sells great Toyotas and doesnt even
  like stupid Hondas.
• Fact 3. There are more Toyota Corollas on the
  roads of the world than any other specific make
  and model.
• Fact 4. The fans of various college sports teams
  may become fairly attached to their favorites.

16
Can you match the false reasons?

• __1. Ad hominem or personal attack is abusive
  remarks without evidence.
• __2. Straw man is a weak argument substituted for
  a stronger one to make the argument easier to
  challenge.
• __3. Circular reasoning restates the point of an
  argument as the support and conclusion.

a. If driving ninety mph were not illegal, it
would not be against the law. b. President Bush
is so stupid that he cannot even speak correctly.
c. Jill "We should clean out the messy
closets." Bill "We just went through those
closets last year. Do we have to clean them
everyday?" Jill "You want too keep your junk
forever."
17
You can match the false reasons?
Circular Reasoning If driving ninety mph were
not illegal, it would not be against the law.
(And around we go!) Personal Attack President
Bush is so stupid that he cannot even speak
correctly. (Way too personal!) Straw Man Jill
"We should clean out the messy closets." Bill
"We just went through those closets last year. Do
we have to clean them everyday?" Jill "You want
too keep your junk forever." (Extremism!)
?Fishy
See anything fishy here?
18
Can you match the false reasons?

• __4. Name calling uses negative labels for a
  product, idea, or cause.
• __5. Testimonials use irrelevant personal
  opinions to support a product, idea, or cause.
• __6. Bandwagon is an appeal that uses the
  irrelevant detail that everyone is doing it.

a. Football star Payton Manning slurps Mountain
Dew, and so should you! b. By far the most
popular vehicle in America is the Ford F-150
pickup you know that even your crippled up
grandmother needs one too! c. Wing nut
conservatives are quite convinced that bombs are
the key to peace, so lets drop them anywhere we
encounter resistance and see what happens!
19
You can match the false reasons
Testimonial Football star Payton Manning slurps
Mountain Dew, and so should you! Bandwagon By
far the most popular vehicle in America is the
Ford F-150 pickup you know that even your
crippled up grandmother needs one too! Name
Calling Wing nut conservatives are quite
convinced that bombs are the key to peace, so
lets drop them anywhere we encounter resistance
and see what happens!
20
Can you match the false reasons?

• __7. False analogy assumes that two things are
  similar when they are not.
• __8. False cause reasons that since two events
  occurred at the same time, one caused the other.
• __9. One-sidedness omits factual details to
  misrepresent a product, idea, or cause.

• Skis and roller skates strap on your feet. Skis
  help you travel on snow efficiently, so roller
  skates would help you travel on snow too.
• A new pastor skips saying that he doesnt believe
  that Jesus saves.
• Brian wore dirty socks and aced the essay he
  will try them on the next one, too.

21
You can match the false reasons
False Analogy Skis and roller skates strap on
your feet. Skis help you travel on snow
efficiently, so roller skates would help you
travel on snow too. One-sidedness A new pastor
skips saying that he doesnt believe that Jesus
saves. False Cause Brian wore dirty socks and
aced the essay he will try them on the next one,
too.
22
Can you match the false reasons?

• __10. False dilemma assumes that only two sides
  of an issue exist.
• __11. False association wrongly links a product
  or idea with what has negative values.
• __12. Glittering Generalities offer general
  positive statements that cant be proven.

• Thousands of Americans lose weight everyday just
  by breathing obviously breathing is the best way
  to lose weight!
• Would it have been good for a Catholic priest to
  invite Michael Jackson lead his youth group?
• America love it or leave it.

23
You can match the false reasons
Glittering Generalities Thousands of Americans
lose weight everyday just by breathing obviously
breathing is the best way to lose weight! False
Association Would it have been good for a
Catholic priest to invite Michael Jackson lead
his youth group? False dilemma The New South
love it or leave it.
24
How useful is factual denial?

• Which ones are in denial?
• __1. Sixteen-year-olds may have double the
  accident rate, but they drive just as safely as
  eighteen-year-olds do.
• __2. While studies find that black leaders often
  over-spend, President Obama would never do such a
  thing.
• __3. Although most northern colleges make
  education majors take a grammar course, few
  southern colleges do because few southern
  students have problems with English grammar.

25
Factual denial should be shunned!

• These are in denial
• Denial 1. Sixteen-year-olds may have double the
  accident rate, but they drive just as safely as
  eighteen-year-olds do.
• Denial 2. While studies find that black leaders
  often over-spend, President Obama would never do
  such a thing.
• Denial 3. Although most northern colleges make
  education majors take a grammar course, few
  southern colleges do because few southern
  students have problems with English grammar.

26
Review of bias and falsity

• Which ones are biased?
• __1. It is one-sided and unfair.
• __2. It is either conservative or liberal.
• __3. It is more emotional than factual.
• __4. It never exaggerates or overstates a
  position.
• __5. It comes out in various stereotypes.
• __6. It presents opinions as if they are facts.

27
Review of bias and falsity

• These are biased
• Bias 1. It is one-sided and unfair.
• __2. It is either conservative or liberal.
• Bias 3. It is more emotional than factual.
• __4. It never exaggerates or overstates a
  position.
• Bias 5. It comes out in various stereotypes.
• Bias 6. It presents opinions as if they are facts.